Specific bronchial provocation tests with flour in the diagnosis of occupational bronchial asthma

The gold standard in the diagnosis of occupational asthma is the specific bronchial provocation test (sBPT), but other diagnostic criteria have been proven to have a similar sensitivity, mainly in asthma due to high molecular weight compounds. In order to assess wether some clinical findings can predict the positive response to sBPT, we studied 37 subjects (14 millers and 23 bakers) with suspected occupational asthma who underwent sBPT with wheat flour dust (dust exposure in a small cabin: geometric mean 12.1 mg/m3 for up to 30 min). A positive response to sBPT (FEV1 > 20%) was elicited in 20 subjects (11 early, 4 late, and 5 dual responses). There was no significant difference between subjects with positive or negative sBPT as regards mean age, smoking, length of employment, duration of symptoms, atopy (skin positivity to one or more common allergens) and PD20FEV1 methacholine. The percentage of subjects with work-related symptoms was significantly higher in subjects with positive sBPT with respect to subjects with negative sBPT (81% versus 41.2%, p < 0.01 by chi 2 test); furthermore, FEV1 was significantly lower in subjects with positive sBPT. The percentage of positive skin response to wheat flour extract (mean wheal diameter > or = 3 mm) was mildly but not significantly higher in subjects with positive sBPT (68.4% versus 41.2%). None of the following clinical factors (age < 35 years, asthma symptoms pre-existing occupational exposure, non smokers, atopy and bronchial hyperresponsiveness to methacholine), alone or in combination, were associated with higher prevalence of positive sBPT. We conclude that the response to sBPT in subjects with suspected occupational asthma due to flour dust can not be adequately predicted by other clinical, allergologic and functional data. Therefore, sBPT with flour dust should always be performed in subjects with suspected occupational asthma.     

High performance UV-cured coatings for wood protection

UV-curable systems based on the copolymerisation of a typical acrylic resin with a low amount of a fluorinated monomer (<1%, w/w) were used for the protection of wood panels. In the presence of the additives, the bulk properties and the adhesion of the acrylic films were unchanged, while a strong modification of the surface was obtained. The quality aspects and the chemical resistance of the coatings applied to the wood panels were also enhanced.     

Elevated soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 in the serum of patients with polymyalgia rheumatica: influence of steroid treatment

OBJECTIVE: To determine the levels of serum soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM-1) in patients with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) and/or giant cell arteritis (GCA) prior and during steroid therapy. METHODS: Sixteen patients with PMR and/or GCA had complete clinical and laboratory investigations at diagnosis before treatment and 9 patients were followed during 6 months of steroid therapy. Serum sICAM-1 levels were measured by ELISA: RESULTS: Serum ICAM-1 levels were higher in the patient group compared to a control population. No significant correlation was found between serum sICAM-1 levels and other indices of disease activity. After steroid administration, a dramatic fall in serum sICAM-1 levels was observed at the end of the first week and persisted until the end of the study period, paralleling clinical and laboratory disease remission. CONCLUSION: Serum sICAM-1 levels paralleled disease activity in PMR and/or GCA. Steroid treatment induced a rapid normalization of the serum sICAM-1 levels.     

Serum chemokines in patients with psoriatic arthritis treated with cyclosporin A

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the possible effects of neuropeptide Y on steroid release by human granulosa cells in culture. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: A university laboratory and the division of obstetrics and gynecology in a hospital. PATIENT(S): Sixteen normally ovulating women. INTERVENTION(S): Ovulation induction for IVF-ET with an LH-releasing hormone analogue and gonadotropins. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): E2 and progesterone were assayed in the media conditioned by granulosa cells with the use of a double-antibody RIA. RESULT(S): Neuropeptide Y stimulates E2 production in a dose-dependent fashion. Preincubation for 3 hours with hCG led to a statistically significant increase in neuropeptide Y-induced E2 secretion. In contrast, whereas 3 hours of preincubation with 10(-7) mol/L of neuropeptide Y did not elicit a statistically significant increase in hCG-induced E2 secretion, coincubation for 48 hours significantly increased hCG-stimulated secretion. Unlike E2, progesterone secretion did not undergo any statistically significant or dose-dependent variation after treatment with neuropeptide Y. CONCLUSION(S): Neuropeptide Y plays a role in human ovarian steroidogenesis directly at the level of the granulosa cells of the follicles in the early stage of luteinization. In this way, neuropeptide Y could play an important role in controlling the positive feedback effect exerted by the ovarian steroids on LH-releasing hormone and gonadotropins in humans.     

High-performance liquid chromatography evaluation of phenols in olive fruit, virgin olive oil, vegetation waters, and pomace and 1D- and 2D-nuclear magnetic resonance characterization

Phenolic compounds are the most important antioxidants of virgin olive oil. This paper reports on the application of solid phase extraction (SPE) in the separation of phenolic compounds from olive fruit, olive oil, and by-products of the mechanical extraction of the oil and the complete spectroscopic characterization by nuclear magnetic resonance of demethyloleuropein and verbascoside extracted from olive fruit. SPE led to a higher recovery of phenolic compounds from olives than did liquid/liquid extraction. SPE also was used to separate phenolic compounds from pomaces and vegetation waters. Phenylacid and phenyl-alcohol concentrations in extracts obtained from SPE and liquid/liquid extraction were not significantly different (P<0.05). The recovery of the dialdehydic form of elenolic acid linked to 3,4-(dihydroxyphenyl)ethanol and an isomer of oleuropein aglycon, however, was low.     

Influence of genetic type, live weight at slaughter and carcass fatness on fatty acid composition of subcutaneous adipose tissue of raw ham in the heavy pig

The study aimed to assess some quality traits of the subcutaneous adipose tissue of raw ham for Parma production, obtained from 56 “traditional” Landrace × Large White (L × LW) and 56 Cotswold commercial hybrid (CH) pigs reared in the same conditions and slaughtered at an average live weight (l.w.) of about 165 kg. Further, the relationships between lipid composition, l.w. and carcass fatness were studied. Compared to the CH, the fatty tissue of L × LW pigs showed a lower water (6.33% vs. 7.35%, P < 0.01) and a higher lipid (91.18% vs. 90.18%, P < 0.01) content. CH lipids had higher polyunsaturated fatty acids (16.53% vs. 13.75%, P < 0.01), and smaller saturated fatty acids (38.20% vs. 40.26%, P < 0.01) content and a higher iodine value (69.69 vs. 65.22, P < 0.01). An increased slaughter weight was associated with a lower degree of lipid unsaturation, but only the lowest weight class (<160 kg) showed a significant difference compared to the other two classes (⩾160 < 170 and ⩾170 kg). Regardless of genetic type or l.w. class, an increase in backfat thickness is associated with an increase in saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids and a remarkable reduction in polyunsaturated content.     

The effect of dietary supplementation of vitamins C and E on the α-tocopherol content of muscles, liver and kidney, on the stability of lipids, and on certain meat quality parameters of the longissimus dorsi of rabbits

The trial was carried out to investigate the effects of adding to the diet of rabbits vitamin E (40; 300; 500 ppm) and C (0; 500 ppm), on vitamin E deposition in the muscles and organs, on the oxidative stability of muscular lipids, and on various meat quality characteristics. The α-tocopherol content in muscles and organs was roughly doubled by feeding the highest levels of vitamin E; it was also increased by giving 500 ppm of vitamin C, but only in those muscles of rabbits receiving 40 ppm of vitamin E. The α-tocopherol content in tissues was negatively correlated with TBARS values of the longissimus dorsi (LD) at days 6 and 8 post mortem (p.m.). Five hundred parts per million (ppm) of vitamin C increased lipid stability of the LD at both 6 and 8 days p.m., though its effect was significant only with 40 ppm of vitamin E. Moreover, 500 ppm of vitamin C resulted in the lowest L(*) and highest pH values at all p.m. times, when the dietary vitamin E was equal to 40 ppm, and in the highest L(*) and lowest pH values when the vitamin E was equal to 300 ppm. Conversely, weight losses of the LD were the lowest, at days 6 and 8 p.m., in the group fed the highest levels of both vitamins.     

Influence of dietary conjugated linoleic acids and vitamin E on meat quality, and adipose tissue in rabbits

Eighty New Zealand White rabbits, age 55 days, half male and half female, were randomly assigned to one of four diets in a 2×2×2 factorial arrangement. The diets contained 0% or 0.5% CLA, and 60 or 240mg/kg α-Tocopheryl acetate. Forty-eight rabbits were slaughtered at age 92 days. Growth performances and carcass weight were higher (P<0.05) in 240mg/kg of α-tocopheryl acetate-fed rabbits. Fat and CLA isomers content of Longissimus Lumborum (LL) muscle was higher (P<0.05) in CLA-fed rabbits than control. Fatty acid composition of LL muscle was modified (P<0.05) and oxidative stability was increased (P<0.001) by both dietary treatments. CLA increased (P<0.05) triglyceride, total cholesterol and glucose levels in plasma. Adipocytes in interscapular and perirenal fat in the 240mg/kg α-tocopheryl acetate and 0.5% CLA groups were larger in size but lesser in number than in 60mg/kg α-tocopheryl acetate and no CLA rabbit (P<0.01).     

Distal musculoskeletal manifestations in polymyalgia rheumatica: a prospective followup study

PURPOSE: To determine whether a p-glycoprotein (P-gp) drug efflux pump exists in cultured rabbit conjunctival epithelial cells (RCEs) to restrict the absorption of cyclosporin A (CSA) and other lipophilic drugs such as verapamil and dexamethasone. METHODS: The anti-P-gp monoclonal antibody (mAb) C219 was used in western blot analysis to reveal the presence of P-gp in freshly isolated and cultured RCEs. Bidirectional transport of tritiated CSA, verapamil, and dexamethasone (0.5 or 5.0 microM) across cultured RCEs was evaluated in the absence and presence of P-gp inhibitors and an external mAb to P-gp (4E3). RESULTS: Western blot analysis of lysates of freshly isolated and cultured RCEs with C219 mAb revealed a 170-kDa membrane protein band. At 0.5 microM CSA, the basal-to-apical (ba) apparent permeability coefficient (P(app) that is, efflux) was 9.3 times higher than that in the apical-to-basal direction (that is, influx). At 5 microM, this ratio was halved. Net CSA secretion was blocked completely at 4 degrees C. Verapamil (100 microM), progesterone (100 microM) and 4E3 mAb (5 microg/ml) increased CSA influx three times, while reducing efflux by 50% to 70%. Verapamil and progesterone inhibited CSA efflux in a concentration-dependent manner. In all cases, net secretory CSA flux was markedly reduced. The P(app) for verapamil (0.5 microM) and dexamethasone (0.5 microM) in the ba direction was 3.4 and 1.6 times, respectively, which was higher than that in the opposite direction. The 4E3 mAb reduced net verapamil secretion by 65%. CONCLUSIONS: There may exist a P-gp-mediated drug efflux pump on the apical aspect of the rabbit conjunctiva to restrict the absorption of cyclosporin A and other lipophilic drugs.